Perry Mason and the Case of Multi Million dollar Lottery Winner
by susan cousineau
Summary: This is the story of Fred and his big win in the lottery. It is of his so called friends and the things people will do for money.
1. Chapter 1

For Fred Kenney today did not seem to be anything to special. He had gotten up and gone to work as he had done for the past ten years. he was married to a wonderful named Martha. They had never had any children and sometimes he wished that they had. But all in all he had a good life and was happy with the way things had been gone lately.

As Fred arrived at work that day the talk was about nothing but the big lottery jackpot that was going to be drawn that night. The jackpot was said to be over one hundred million dollars. Fred had made a mental note to himself to stop at the store on his way home. He wanted to buy a chance at the big jackpot.

In the break room Giles Allen was taking dollar bills from anyone that might be interested in buying in on a chance at the lottery drawing. They would split the winnings if they won between all of the participants. Fred thought that what the heck it sounded good to him and he bought a chance that afternoon.

But when Fred had left work that afternoon he had stopped at the local convenience store and bought his own ticket. This ticket he put into his pocket and left it there. He would check the numbers in the morning.

But while Fred was in the store he ran into Giles who was waiting to buy the tickets for the office. They both joked about what they were going to do with the money if they won. It had been a pleasant experience. But, just as Giles reached the lady at the lottery machine the machine shut down. he was too late for the drawing and would have to wait until the next drawing in two days. As Giles looked at the date on his lottery tickets he cringed. He had known that the lottery machine was going to stop the lottery sales. The line had been so long and he had been late.

Giles went out the front door of the store and told Fred what had happened. But Fred didn't think that he was going to win the jackpot anyways. He told him that the lottery probably would still have a large jackpot the next week. But Giles had insisted that he needed to do something. he hinted around, actually just about begged Fred to let him and the other people at the office a chance with the tickets that he had bought.

But something had told Fred that was not a good idea and he had thanked Giles but kept the tickets. Fred went home that day and did not put much thought into the drawing that was held late that night.

When Fred got up in the morning he got the surprise of a lifetime. He must have checked the winning numbers that the television was showing one hundred times. But yes he was the winner that the lady on the television was saying had won over one hundred and fifty million dollars. "After taxes our lucky winner will make over one hundred and ten million dollars for he and his family.

Fred just stood there and shook. He needed to go to the store and have the clerk check the ticket . Fred was a nervous wreck and as he rounded the corner to the little store he saw a sign on the door. It said 'this store sold the winning ticket to one of the largest jackpots in the history of the lottery.'

This was a sign telling Fred that he had indeed won the lottery. So with a smile on his face he walked into the store. But there was Giles standing there. As Fred went to tell the clerk that he was the winner of the lottery Giles came over.

Giles looked over at the ticket that Fred was holding and knew immediately that Fred had won the lottery. For just a second Giles lost his mind. But what he said to the clerk nearly floored Fred "Yes my friend and I were in here last night buying tickets for the jackpot for the people that we work with. There are twelve of us who will be sharing this large pot." and with that he put his arm on Fred's shoulder.

Fred was about to say something to the clerk when without warning there were photographers in the store along with newspaper reporters. Fred watched in horror as Giles made a big deal of the other people who were going to be sharing the winnings.

But before everything got out of control Fred yelled. "I am not sharing this money with anyone. I bought this ticket and Giles arrived too late. He wanted to have the ticket part of the company sharing, but I told him no. He was too late and had missed the cut off time."

"So are you telling us that you claim this ticket for yourself and yourself only?" one reporter asked him.

"Yes this is my ticket. If the store manager watches the tape from last night he will see that I was alone and that Giles missed the cut off point for purchase. This ticket was my own ticket."

Giles did his best to put on the face of a man who was in shock. He wanted to play this up for the media. "Fred, you know that ticket belongs to you and your coworkers. We were supposed to share the winnings. Don't be like that" he told Fred and the crowd.

By this time the crowd was getting very large and some of the people who were going to split the prize had shown up also. Each one of them agreed with Giles that Fred had been in on the group purchase.

By this time Fred was furious. Giles had lied to everyone about what had happened with the lottery ticket. But when Fred went to the lottery office he found out something even more shocking. He was not going to be able to get his money until there was a formal hearing. Giles and his coworkers had filed a lawsuit saying that they owned the ticket.


	2. Chapter 2

Now came the calls . There were the calls from the media, the calls from the family, and then the calls from people that Fred or his wife . When Fred had told Martha that they were now millionaires she had thought of so many things that she wanted to do with the money. She had spent the money a hundred times over and had even looked at a new car.

When Fred had come home that night and told her what had happened her world had crashed. She had never had any money, at least the money that this kind was. With this type of money she and Fred would not need to work ever again and they could enjoy their lives while they were still relatively young . But now the jerk Giles had lied and told everyone that the money was to be split twelve ways of all things.

What they needed was a lawyer and a good one at that. Without the assistance of a good lawyer they could face losing over one hundred thirty million dollars . That was not acceptable.

Perry Mason was at home getting ready for another busy day at the office. He was trying to feed his son Perry in his high chair and was having very little luck. It was play time for his son and every time Perry tried to feed him he spit out his food. Finally after what seemed forever his son finally settled down and started to eat.

Sally had girl scouts in the afternoon so Jen the nanny was going to be taking her and the baby over to the meeting. Della was back to work full time and their schedule had been full and neither one of them had time for the life that they looked forward to.

Della had been reading the newspaper about the man who had won the lottery. The people that worked at the office with him claimed to have been in a pool where the money should be shared. But, the man who was buying the tickets for the people at work was on video buying tickets after the man who said he had bought his own. Because of the long line at the lottery counter, the man who was buying several tickets and claimed that the money should be shared was too late. His tickets had not been for that night, they were for the next drawing. The case was very intriguing.

As Perry and Della headed out to the school to drop off Sally the conversation was about the man who had won the lottery. Perry found the story very interesting. He knew that for money people were willing to do just about anything. This was a huge sum of money and he was sure that someone was looking to cash in on the ticket and he was sure that there was something else involved.

When they arrived at the office Della was surprised to see that Mrs. Kenney had called to make an appointment with Perry early that morning. This was not going to be the usual case that Perry Mason and Della handled. But it could be very interesting indeed.

Fred was glad when his wife had made an appointment with Perry Mason. But, he wondered if her choice was the best one for them. Perry Mason was a criminal attorney who was very good at his job. He was known for his many cases where he had gotten his clients off on murder charges. This was about the winnings from a lottery ticket.

As Fred and his wife made their way to Mr. Mason's office they were very nervous. Mr. Mason was a large man with a kind face who shook their hands steadily. His wife Della was his secretary and she had a kind face.

As Fred told Mr. Mason about the purchase of the lottery ticket and what had happened on that fateful evening Perry listened intently. Perry put his hand on his chin thinking for a few minutes. "I saw in the newspaper this morning that there is a video tape of you purchasing the ticket and then a video of Giles Allen purchasing several tickets a few minutes later. With that tape and the timing I believe that we will have a good chance of winning the case. However, this could take months to be settled. I will have a man by the name of Paul Drake look into this and see what else he can find out. Don't worry about it right now. The lottery has not made a decision and I will file the papers for a hearing date as soon as possible." he told them with a smile.

Giles had arrived at the office that morning to find everyone confronting him about the lottery and their money. It was all that he could do to answer their questions. He didn't know what was going to happen himself. So he told them "Right now the lottery is going to hold a meeting. Fred is fighting for the right to keep the money. Of course he is lying, we are on tape talking just before he purchased the ticket that won. But I think that we should get a lawyer. I am sure that Fred is going to get one." he told the group.

Now this was a problem they were going to have to come up with some money for a lawyer and that could be expensive. But after a lot of grumbling it was decided that they would hire a lawyer. One of the men had a brother that was a lawyer and they met with him that afternoon.

It was there at the lawyers office that the members of the office found out just how weak their case was. The best that they could hope for was the clerk at the store remembering the two men and overhearing something. The store had been so busy that evening and Giles was sure that no one had heard anything because he was lying about the whole thing . 'What a stupid thing for me to do. I am not going to get anything out of this but humiliation.' Giles thought to himself.

As the group left the office together everyone was talking at once. Giles promised them that he would call Fred and see if they could work something out. 'Don't worry the money should be ours. We will win.' he told them.


	3. Chapter 3

Giles Allen was in a bind a real bind. He had lied to the media his wife his family his co workers. He had lied to everyone and soon the truth was going to come out. He knew that there was no avoiding what was going to happen. 'Think Giles. Think. There has to be a way out of this.

That was when Giles thought that he might go to Fred's house and talk to him face to face. But as he pulled up to the house he saw Fred and his wife's car in the driveway and he wanted to talk to Fred alone. Martha might not go along with what he said and he just wanted to talk to Fred alone. Fred was a man and he had known Fred for years. 'I will give him a call' he thought to himself.

Fred had been sitting at the kitchen table when he saw Giles pull up to the front of the house. He had gotten out of his seat and started towards the front door when he saw him leave. Martha had been at the table with him and asked "What's wrong?"

"Giles just pulled up to the house and then pulled away. That man is so much trouble. He is not welcome here. If he thinks that he is going to get one cent of the money from that ticket, he is wrong, dead wrong.

Martha didn't like what Giles was saying. Money was indeed the root of all evil. "Is this money worth all of the headache?" she asked her husband.

"It is our money and I am not going to be robbed of what is legally mine. How the money is spent is for us to decide not someone else. But, now Giles has the whole office on his side. I am going to have to quit. I can't work there anymore. Not with this going on." he told her rather sadly.

Fred had always liked his job and even with the lottery winnings he had hoped that he could keep his job. But Giles had ruined everything. A time that should have been wonderful was now a time of fights and loss of friends. Everyone wanted the money and he thought that no one cared how they got it.

Fred and Martha were in the living room watching more television news about the lottery winner and how there was a dispute about the winnings when the phone rang. Fred picked up the phone and was surprised to hear Giles on the other end of the line. Fred was in no mood to talk to him and said "What do you want?" rather rudely.

Martha had been watching her husband from her chair and could tell from his tone that the man on the other end of the phone was Giles Allen. "Just hang up on him. He can talk to Perry Mason. That is why we are paying a lawyer." Martha told her husband.

But Fred couldn't get rid of Giles. He kept telling him that he wanted to come up with some sort of agreement. Fred wasn't sure why he said that he would go and meet Giles at the house, but he did. "I will only be gone for a few minutes." Fred promised Martha.

Della had gone home that evening, late as usual. She had finally arrived home at just after ten. But she wanted to do some more work on line. She wanted to look on some of the dating sites and see if Joe was there. About midnight she finally came across a site called lovers forever. There she found Joe. He seemed to be very popular and there had been several hits placed on his site. The latest contact had been made today. The site was apparently unaware that the man had been murdered. Della took a copy of the site and finally climbed into bed after midnight.

Perry and Paul had completed their on site investigation and had both headed home. Perry had a lot of work to do and was reading some of his many legal books. He was not a specialist on the laws of the lottery. Each lottery had its own rules and things varied from state to state. But the lottery hearing was now set for two weeks from the next Tuesday and he needed to have everything ready for the hearing. In California the lottery commissioner had the final word on where the winnings went and ninety percent of the time the decision was made at the hearing.

The lights burned at the Drake house late that night also. Paul was watching the video that had been enhanced once more. He wanted to make sure that he didn't miss anything. The tape was three hours long and perhaps there was something on the tape before the shots that were heard or afterwards. But sleep got to him and Paul ended up going to bed after watching just half of the tape.

Giles was at home nervous about what he was going to say to Fred about the lottery. He needed to convince Fred to give him some of the money. He needed it bad and he just had to get some of that money. When he heard the doorbell ring, he assumed that it was Fred. But as he called "Come in." he saw a flash of a gun and went down. He closed his eyes and died almost instantly.

The cold hearted killer cleaned the pistol off completely and placed it on the floor. As they looked around the room and were satisfied that no one had seen them they walked out of the back door and into the night.

Fred arrived at Giles' s house at around eleven. He knocked on the door and found it partly open. But as he walked in the door he found Giles dead. He had been shot. When he saw the gun on the floor Fred picked it up. He didn't see or hear anything and called the police.


	4. Chapter 4

The police were quick to arrive and Fred was held for questioning. He knew that he was in deep trouble. Everyone in the city probably the whole state had heard about his disagreement with Giles. They had been fighting about that stupid lottery ticket and now Giles had been murdered.

The worst thing about a murder is the family that loses a loved one. As Marie Allen arrived at her house with her two children she saw Fred's car and the police and knew that something was very wrong. The ticket, she knew it, it had caused more problems once again.

Fred looked out the window and saw Giles' wife pulling up in the driveway. He tried to excuse himself and go out to see her. But the police would not allow him to do so. They wanted to talk to her first. Marie had two small children with her John and Melanie who were still not in school yet. He liked Marie and felt terrible about what had happened.

As Fred was allowed to leave he headed out to his car. Marie started to yell at him "That darn old lottery ticket. Now you are going to jail for murder and Giles is dead. Was it worth it?"

Fred tried to talk to Marie but she just wasn't listening. He had done nothing and he had lost a man that he had called a friend before this lottery ticket thing had happened. As he went home to his family, he knew that he needed to call Perry Mason.

Perry had been home with his family that evening. He was now used to being a family man and could not remember hardly anytime without Della and his two children. Sally was becoming a pre teen now and Perry Jr. was walking. 'Where had time gone?' he wondered. Della and his first wedding anniversary was coming up and he had big plans for the celebration.

When he had asked Della's sister if she would take the two children for a few days she had been thrilled to get the chance for her little boy Mike and Perry to get a chance to play together a little more. They had been raised almost as brothers more than cousins anyways. He had made reservations on the Queen Mary once more for a three day weekend. That was where he had fallen in love and they had been married. It was just a beautiful ship and he knew that it was Della's favorite spot too.

Perry had gone into his home office that morning to do some work from home when his answering service called. He was just picking up the paper and read about the murder of Giles Allen. When he heard the Fred Kenney was trying to reach him he knew that he had another murder mystery on his hands.

Della came into the office with a cup of coffee and could hear Perry talking to Fred. She knew by the tone of the conversation that something serious had happened and when Perry hung up the phone she took her usual seat.

Perry looked at his wife and shook his head. "Giles Allen was murdered last night and Fred Kenney found the body. He has not been arrested or charged with anything, but he picked up the gun." he told her as he leaned over and gave her a kiss.

Della shook her head. People were always doing such stupid things. Fred should have never touched the gun. Now they had his fingerprints on the gun. He had called the police to report the murder that was something good.

"Fred is going to meet us at the office at ten. He and Martha are going to come in and we will go over everything. The sad thing is that Giles had not a leg to stand on. He would have had no chance with the money. But I don't think that Fred is guilty of anything."

With that Della picked up the phone and called Paul Drake. Paul was at his home office himself playing with the baby when he got the call from Della. He was not surprised as he had read the paper that morning. "I will go to the Allen house and see what I can find out. Then I will get right back to you." Paul told his friend.

Sally was busy with her brother playing in the den. There was no school today. She had teacher's conferences and so she was going to be home with Jen and her brother. Her Aunt Michelle was going to pick her up at noon and they were going to do some shopping. Michelle had become a staple at the Mason household and she had even taken Perry Jr with her a couple of times. She was a good woman just in no condition to take care of a child full time.

Perry and Della headed out to the office a little after nine that morning and arrived to the bustle and hustle of an office that knew trouble was brewing. They had read the newspaper and knew about Fred finding Giles murdered. Gertie had already gotten out some of the paperwork that she knew Della and Perry would need. Della and Perry were well aware that it was just a matter of time before Tragg showed up with a warrant for Fred's arrest.

Lt. Tragg had been up most of the night investigating the murder of Giles Allen. The man had been shot at close range while facing his assailant. It had been a very messy scene. He had hated telling the wife . She had two small children and had gone to stay with her parents for the night.

On the gun he had found Fred Kenney's fingerprints and on his phone he had found that Giles had called him three times that day. Fred had returned two of the phone calls. As he had asked around the neighborhood that morning no on remembered seeing any other cars at the house. When all the tests were completed he was sure that he had enough evidence to bring it to the district attorney. That was then he remembered something that had been mentioned in the paper. Fred and his wife had hired an attorney about the lottery ticket. They had hired Perry Mason. 'That is where I will find him ' he thought to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

There were many things that people do when they are worried and Fred was a very worried man. He was sure that the police were closing in on him and that he was going to be charged with murder. 'What to do. He had no money to pay for an attorney such as Perry Mason. If he lost the money from the lottery, he would be financially ruined.

That morning Fred had gone to work and had gotten the cold shoulder once again. People that he had thought of as friends would leave the table if he tried to sit with them. It was no fun sitting there alone in the break room. Whenever he walked anywhere the people would stop and just glare at him. He knew that his days of working there were numbered.

Fred had been at his desk when his boss Mark Williams came up to him and said that he wanted to see Fred in his office privately. As Fred entered the room he knew what was going to happen. Mark had been one of the people who had been in the lottery pool. They had been friends for a long time and Fred couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I am sorry for all of the trouble this lottery ticket has caused the office. But, your selfishness and greed has caused you and my family great hardship. This is a small office and everyone needs to get along. Your selfishness had caused the harmony in the office to stop. Now our friend Giles has been murdered and you found him. I am going to ask you to share the winnings with the office like they should be once more."

Fred couldn't believe that Mark was being so forceful. He wanted that money and Fred knew that there was no use trying to reason with the man. Also, he didn't like the implications that Mark was giving. He was now hinting that perhaps he had something to do with the murder. Fred knew that he could no longer work there. But, one thing for sure he wasn't going to be fired by this jerk. "I think that you have made yourself perfectly clear Mark. If you think that you will ever see any penny from that ticket you and your friends are wrong. I have the best lawyer in town and he has guaranteed me that you have not a foot to stand on. So you can just sit there and cry in your milk. I don't need this job,. As a matter of fact, the first thing that I am going to do when I get the money I am going to buy this business that has been for sale and fire you." he shouted.

As Fred left the office he picked up his desk and watched as the people he had worked with for years just stared. They had all heard what Fred had said and knew that he might be saying the truth. Now, not only were they going to get the money from the ticket, but they might be unemployed soon. The business had been for sale. The original owner had passed on and his son had not wanted the business. They also knew that Fred knew what he was doing and that he could run the business himself.

The sad part of all of this was that even the people who had not been involved in the lottery were not speaking to him. This made no sense to him at all. But, he thought that perhaps they thought that they wanted nothing to do with a thief. That was what most people thought he was. He just had to prove his innocence somehow or another.

Fred went outside to his car and took a deep breath. He had lost his temper with the people at the office and there was really no reason for him to do so. They were just doing what anyone would do. They did give Giles the money for the ticket and he had been at the same store on that fateful night. 'I must find out who the murderer is' he thought to himself.

When Fred got home Martha was in the kitchen. She had been through a day where she had been stared at and had heard nasty remarks about her and her husband everywhere she went. They all claimed that she and Fred were greedy and had stolen the people's money 'He is taking money from people he worked with. He darn near stole it.' she had heard over and over.

Perry Mason had been at his office working on the case and some other cases that he was handling. Della had been doing her own research and had begun to get a little suspicious of Fred's boss Mark Williams. Mark had been very vocal about the winnings. He had said that if Fred was a man he would come forward and tell the truth."

Della was looking at the news when that man Mark Williams was on the television once again. He was stating that he had fired Fred for his indiscretions. "He owes a lot of money to me and his co workers. I did not feel that he was an asset to the company anymore." he was saying.

Perry was ready to go home and had come into Della's room. He had seen enough of the newscast to know that Fred must be getting very nervous. He was expecting the police to come any minute and he was worried.

Before Perry Mason and Della had been married Lt Tragg had never had a problem finding them at the office at all hours of the night. So, this night he wanted to go and see if Perry was with Fred Kenny. He had been to his work and was told he had been fired. He had then been to the house and had found no one to be at home. He had a couple of men watching the house, but he was headed to Mason's office.

But, when Lt Tragg got there he found the office locked up and dark. Perry had gone home. Now, he was going to have to go out and find Fred Kenny because he had a warrant for his arrest.


	6. Chapter 6

Fred Kenney was not trying to hide from the police. However, he had now lost his job and was hounded by people no matter where he went. He had spent the night just driving around when he saw the lights behind him. It was the police and he knew that they were going to arrest him.

'How can a life change so quickly?' Fred thought to himself. Less than a week ago he was a happily married man with a job that he liked and now he was a wanted man for the murder of one of the men he had worked alongside.

As Fred was taken into custody his wife Martha called Perry Mason. She reached the answering service and they promised that they would get right back to her.

Perry and Della were at home enjoying an evening with their family. Perry was getting so cute and he was so smart. Sally and Perry Jr were in the den with their mom and dad playing. Perry was starting to say a few words and Sally was trying to show him how to play a game. Perry and Della both laughed as they watched their children play together.

That was when the phone rang and Perry was told that Fred Kenney had been arrested under suspicion of murder. Once more Perry was to head out after work and help someone who was in trouble.

As Della and his family watched Perry once more headed down to the police station. When he arrived he was met by his friend Lt Tragg. Although, the two men had butt heads on many occasions, Perry knew him to be an honest man. His police work was always thorough and Perry knew that all of his i's had been dotted and his t's crossed.

Perry was led into an examination room where Fred was questioned. There Perry made sure that all questions were answered honestly but exactly. Fred could not lie to the police, but he didn't have to offer them any information either.

"There will be a bail hearing in the morning. I will get you out on bail and we will find out the true murderer." Perry promised.

This left Fred alone to think more about what had happened to him in the past few days. He had to think 'Who would want Giles dead?' All he could think was 'just about everyone that thought they were going to win a lot of money.' He was sure that some of the people who had not gotten any money blamed Giles for the trouble.

As Perry drove home he placed a call to his friend Paul "Paul they have arrested Fred Kenney. I need to have you check every single man and woman from Fred's office that was supposed to be sharing the lottery winnings. I want them and their girl friends and boy friends each checked. I believe that one of them is the murderer."

Paul laughed to himself. "Perry, this is a tall order and will take my men and me a while. We have been working on some of the people including Fred's boss Mark Willaims . I have the list of the people who were supposed to share the winnings and will start on it right away."

As Perry arrived at his home once more it was after ten. But, there in his study was his wife and love of his life Della. She had been preparing all of the necessary papers for the court hearing in the morning. He leaned over and gave her a kiss and then took a seat. After going over each paper carefully he signed them. it was after midnight when they finally climbed into bed.

Martha Kenney had been worried sick all night and had not slept much at all. She had called her sister Mary and told her what had happened to poor Fred. Mary had insisted on spending the night with her and they had spent most of the night together worrying.

The next morning Della and Perry met Fred at the courthouse. Hamilton Burger was there in person to try to keep Fred in jail while he was on trial. But Perry Mason was once more successful in getting his client out on bail. Perry needed Fred because in just two days was the hearing with the lottery. It was Perry and Fred's hope that Fred would walk out of the meeting a wealthy man.

Paul was on his way to the office where Fred had worked. He would not go in the office, but he wanted to talk to some of the people as they left and entered the building. In his hand he had pictures of each of the people who had purchased the lottery ticket with Giles. The first lady that he saw was a lady by the name of Tina Sherman. As Paul came up to her to talk she seemed surprised.

But, she agreed to talk to Paul and told him of that fateful day. "I am not much of a lottery player, but when Giles had approached me I had figured why not? If I win I could be set for life. My husband Joe and my two kids would be set for life. When Giles came into the office and told us that we had won the lottery my heart skipped a beat. But my bubble was soon burst when we went to see a lawyer."

"Did the lawyer tell you what Mr. Mason told Fred Kenney? That you didn't have a leg to stand on?" Paul asked.

Tina shook her head yes . "When I heard that someone murdered Giles I couldn't believe it. I don't think that Fred killed him either." she told him.

Meanwhile it was now time for the court hearing to start. The courtroom was full and Martha took her seat directly behind her husband. As the court convened a woman judge by the name of Judge Judith Clark entered the room . Fred took a deep breath his life was in this woman's hands.


	7. Chapter 7

The amount of people who had come to the courthouse on that day surprised Fred. He had no idea that there were so many people involved in his case. He saw all of his coworkers and wondered what they were thinking. 'They can't think that I murdered Fred ' . He was hoping for the best but he was now on trail for his life.

Perry Mason listened carefully to Hamilton Burger as he spoke to the jury about the murder. He spoke of how this murder was just a murder of pure greed. Fred had won a lottery that was large and the victim felt that he was entitled to a part of the winnings. Earlier that day Mr. Kenney had gone in on a pool and they were supposed to be sharing the winnings. But when Fred Kenney got the winning ticket he selfishly wanted the money for himself. This is to be decided by another commission. I stand here to prove that Fred went over to Giles' house to convince Giles to stop the lawsuit that he and his coworkers had placed against him. When Giles had refused he murdered him."

You could have heard a pin drop as the people in the courtroom listened to the district attorney. But now it was time for Perry Mason to address the court and this was one of the ways that he shined. As he walked over to the group that would possibly decide the fate of his client, Perry looked them each in the eye. He wanted each juror to feel that they could hold the key to a young man's future. He wanted each and everyone of the jurors to listen and realize that Fred had no reason to want Giles Allen dead.

As Perry addressed the jury the room was once more silent . Perry said "I am here to prove to you that Fred Kenney had nothing to do with the murder of Giles Allen. We all know that it is said that money is the root of all evil and the winning of the lottery ticket was the beginning of the downfall of Fred's life. Up until the time that my client hit the lottery he had a good job a wife and a home. He had a mortgage yes, but he was doing all right financially. Anyone could use the money, and when he won the lottery he purchased the ticket with his own money. Giles and his group of coworkers had indeed been to any attorney about the lottery and this will be settled by the lottery shortly. Fred would stand to gain little by the death of Giles. Giles has a wife and there are eleven other people who would still be sharing the winnings. There would be no monetary gain. We have proof that it was Giles that called Fred, not the other way around. My client is innocent." With that Perry Mason went back to his desk and took a seat.

Once the opening statements had completed Hamilton Burger called to the stand Lr. Tragg . Lt. Tragg was a competent police officer who had worked the homicide unit for many years. He was well known by both Hamilton Burger and Perry Mason. He went over the complete scene and what he had observed on the day of the murder. Perry listened intently to what he had to say and when it was his turn to question him he stood up and said "No questions."

The next witness to come to the witness stand for the prosecution was the doctor. The doctor went into great detail about the position of the shot and the damage that had occurred to Giles' body as the bullet went through the internal organs. "I can say positively that Giles died almost instantly." he told the court.

It was now Perry Mason's turn to question the doctor . Everything that Perry Mason did was deliberate in the courtroom. He looked down at some papers and put his head on his chin. He then got up and walked up to the witness stand with a puzzled look. "I would like to know that if you think that Giles died there on the living room floor and that he body was not moved, how did his body end up face down. If he was facing his murderer wouldn't he have fallen back on his back if he died instantly.?" Perry asked the doctor.

The doctor thought for a moment and said "I do not have an exact answer for you sir. There is the possibility that because the murderer was so close to the victim that as the man was struck by the bullet he was twisted around. But, there was no sign that Giles Allen moved on his own power once he was shot." the doctor told the jury and Perry Mason definitely.

The next person to take the witness stand was going to be Fred's boss Mark Williams. Perry wanted to bide a little time so that he could wait to hear from Paul Drake. Perry stood up and asked "Your honor I would like to make what might become a lengthy cross examination of this man and I see that it is already eleven thirty. I am asking for a lunch break now."

The judge looked up at the time and agreed. With the bang of his gavel court was adjourned until two o'clock.

Paul Drake had been very busy all morning looking into the different people that thought they might have won the lottery. Each and everyone of them were understandably upset about what had happened. But Mark Wiliams had taken it to another height all together. As Paul dug and dug he found that Williams had a second mortgage out on his home and was in arrears for back taxes. He needed the money badly. As Paul looked at his watch he saw that it was now twelve thirty and made a call to Perry telling about what he had learned about Fred's boss Mark Williams.


	8. Chapter 8

Perry was going to be in court soon and he had not heard from Paul. He had little to go on and needed to know more about the people who were going to be in court that day. Della had been busy looking into things on her laptop, but was coming up dry.

As court convened the district attorney called his next witness. The next witness was Cole Pride. Cole Pride owned the store where the lottery ticket had been purchased. Perry knew that the store was a small store and the large commission that the store was due to get because of the sale of the lottery ticket .

As the man took the witness stand and oath Perry studied the man's face. He looked nervous, but, a little too nervous. He had the look of a man that had something to hide. The testimony was the same thing that everyone had been hearing for the past few months.

Cole looked the district attorney in the eye and said "I was very busy that evening. The line was out the door and our lottery machine had been working the entire day. There were people who came in and bought several hundred dollars worth of tickets. It was close to the time that the machine shuts down when Fred Kenney bought the ticket." he told the court.

"Did you see Giles Allen that night?" Hamilton Burger asked him.

"Yes he was there. He was very nervous because he had gotten to the store late." Cole told the court.

"So, Giles Allen knew that he might miss the cut off?" Burger asked him.

"Yes. If you miss the cut off your tickets are only good for the next drawing. That would be on the following Tuesday." Cole told the court.

"Did Giles Allen realize that he had a ticket that was only good for the following week?" Burger asked him.

"Oh yes he threw a fit and swore and carried on for ten minutes about the ticket. But there was nothing that I could do or anyone else for that matter. The numbers were being drawn and the machine closed down." Cole told the court.

"Thank you sir. Your witness Mr. Mason." Burger turned and spoke to Perry.

Perry got up slowly from the desk where he had been sitting and approached the witness. " I have just a couple of questions for you. "Did at anytime Giles speak to Fred Kenney after the purchase of the ticket?"

"Yes when he saw that the ticket wasn't any good for the drawing that night he went over to Fred and just about begged him to share the ticket with him. But Fred wouldn't and Giles started yelling. As they were walking out of the store and down the sidewalk I could hear him still yelling at Fred." Cole told Perry and the courtroom.

"Were you in the store the next morning when Fred and Giles came in?" Perry asked.

"Yes I was there. Fred came in about five minutes after Giles with the winning ticket. He came over to me and I confirmed that he indeed had the winning ticket."

"What did Giles say when he heard that Fred had the winning ticket?" Mason asked Cole.

"He acted completely different than I had expected him to. I started to say that I didn't want any trouble in the store when Giles came over and put his arm around Fred's shoulder. He acted as though they were the best of friends. Fred pulled away but when Giles made the announcement that everyone in his office was going to be sharing the winnings I almost dropped. " he told the court.

"What did you do? " Mason asked.

"Without warning within a few moments the media arrived. The store was a media circus and it was all I could do to make sure that nothing got broken or stolen while everyone was there. There were people in my store that I had never seen before or since. You couldn't even move." Cole told him.

"You stand to get a lot of money out of this sale. Is that correct?" Perry asked.

"Yes I am . The store gets a commission on all lottery sales." Cole answered.

"How much are you going to get?" Mason asked.

Hamilton Burger stood up and said "Your honor the counselor is getting way off base. I have allowed him to cross examine Mr. Cole with a large leeway , however, it is not pertinent to the case as to how much money Mr. Pride is going to get from the sale of the ticket."

Perry mason turned around and addressed the judge. "On the contrary, this is a large sum of money that the store is going to get. Who won the money is of no concern to Mr. Pride. He gets the same amount of money from the state either way." Mason argued.

The judge thought for a moment and said "I will allow the question. But move along please."

Perry Mason turned to Mr. Pride again and said "How much money are you going to get?"

Cole Pride looked Mason in the eyes and replied "My store will receive fifty thousand dollars plus a new machine . We also will become one of the stores that presents new tickets first. We will become preferred lottery providers." he answered.

"Does the preferred status also give you a larger commission on any winnings in the future?" Perry asked.

"Yes, instead of getting two percent of all winnings I will now receive three percent of all winnings." Cole told him.

"That sounds like a lot of money . How much of a difference will that one percent make?" Perry asked him.

"With the new commission it could make me about ten thousand or so a year." Cole answered.

"How long have you known Giles Allen?" Perry asked.

"I have known him for years. He has been coming and buying lottery tickets." Cole answered.

"Where were you when Giles was murdered?" Mason demanded.

"I was at the store." Cole answered.

"No let me look at the testimony of the police officer at the scene. He listed a man that matches your description as one of the men who were in the crowd at the murder scene. Do you want me to recall him?"

Cole looked out into the audience and saw the officer. He knew by the expression on his face that the policeman recognized him. "Yes. I was there." he admitted.

"I say that you were there because you are the murderer Mr. Pride. I suggest that Giles had been causing you a headache. You hadn't gotten your money because of him and the store is going bankrupt. You need the money." Mason accused him.

"That is the stupidest thing that I ever heard. Everyone knows that the money would be mine eventually. You can't prove a thing." Cole countered.

"But I can Mr. Pride. You had been to the bank that day begging for more time on a loan. The bank would only give you thirty days. I say that you went to Giles Allen and told him that you would give him some of the winnings if he would drop the lawsuit. I have Paul Drake here in the audience with Mark Summers. Do you recognize him Mr. Pride? He is the man that you stole the gun from. The gun that shot and killed Giles Allen." Perry Mason nearly shouted at him.

With this Cole Pride knew that he was caught. He sneered as he told the court. "Giles wanted to keep the hearing and try to get more money. He was stupid . I offered him five thousand dollars and he laughed. I just shot him and would do it again.

The trial was over and once more Fred Kenney was a free man. Perry and Della congratulated him and Martha and went home. As the husband and wife went to their home they were greeted by their two children. Life was good at the Mason household.


End file.
